Doing Business in South Sudan
Doing Business in South Sudan
South Sudan emerged as an independent country free from sanctions as of July 9th, 2011. The new state will no longer be directly subject to the U.S. Department of Treasury, Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions. On December 8, OFAC amended Sudanese Sanctions Regulations by issuing two general licenses that authorize: 1) all activities and transactions relating to the petroleum and petrochemical industries in South Sudan and related financial transactions; and 2) the transshipment of goods, technology, and services through Sudan to and from South Sudan and related financial transactions. There may be certain other activities by U.S. persons in the new state (the Republic of South Sudan) that could continue to be prohibited.
Given the interdependence between some sectors of the economy of the Republic of South Sudan and the Republic of Sudan, certain activities will still require OFAC authorization. Absent a license, current Sudanese sanction regulations will continue to prohibit U.S. persons from dealing in property and interests in property of the Government of Sudan, from performing services that benefit Sudan or the Government of Sudan, and from participating in some exports to or imports from the Republic of South Sudan that transit through Sudan, see 31 C.F.R. §§ 538.406, 538.210, and 538.417. U.S. persons or companies that wish to engage in the activities listed above are encouraged to apply for an OFAC license.
The Embassy recommends that anyone interested in doing business in South Sudan consult the latest reports. The links below are intended to assist U.S. businesses with obtaining information on the OFAC sanctions, the December 8 amendment to the sanctions, and the opportunities for conducting business in South Sudan.